ORLANDO, Fla. — Akshay Bhatia used an Arnold Palmer-like charge to score a breakthrough victory Sunday in a tournament that has become one of the PGA Tour’s premier events.
Riding on the energy of the Bay Hill Club & Lodge gallery, Bhatia recovered from a shaky opening nine holes and capitalized on a final-round mistake by 54-hole leader Daniel Berger to win in Sunday’s sudden-death playoff.
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To win, Bhatia fought through mixed emotions and played some of the best golf of his young career, putting pressure on Berger, who eventually broke through and opened the door.
Bhatia finally made his second par on the 18th hole to win the first API decision by extra hole since 1999 and stun Berger, who missed an 8-foot par putt to extend the tournament.
Wearing a red cardigan, Bhatia finished with a total of 15-under 273 and is confident Palmer will relish his clutch play and determination on the back nine.
“Definitely bold,” Bhatia said. “I think that’s a big thing that Mr. Palmer is known for.”
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Palmer’s ferocious style and shooting inspired fans. On Sunday, those outside the ropes at Bay Hill were firmly in Bhatia’s corner, despite Berger nearly knocking out his opponent on the front nine after a two-shot swing on No. 9 and leading by five at the turn.
The former Florida State Seminole, seeking his first win since 2021, was overshadowed by a birdie combo and an eagle from Bhatia on the par-5 16th hole. Berger had hoped to join Fred Couples (1992) and Jason Day (2016) as Bay Hill’s only wire-to-wire champions, but after sitting atop the leaderboard since the end of Thursday’s opening round, Berger ultimately lost the lead on the 71st hole on Sunday.
“Obviously things didn’t go the way I wanted,” the 32-year-old said. “But at the beginning of the week, if you had told me I had a chance to win Bay Hill on the 18th hole, I would have been ecstatic. Winning is hard.
“The battle is tough.”
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Bhatia was determined to keep fighting after missing a putt from 3 feet on the par-4 ninth.
“It’s just a mental mistake you can’t make in a big championship, a big golf course,” he said. “So I went to the 10th tee very angry.”
Bhatia opened the back nine with four consecutive birdies. After five bogeys on the 15th, he made an eagle on the par-5 16th, and Berger birdied to maintain a one-shot advantage.
The match turned in Bhatia’s favor on the next hole, No. 17, a daunting 184-yard par-3 on the water.
Berger’s 7-iron hit the back of the green. Berger elected to putt on his first chip after the green, sending the ball 8 feet past the hole, but missed his comeback putt.
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Bhatia’s putt just ran out of steam inside 20 feet and burned the right edge of the cup for par.
Berger’s tee shot on the final hole found the thick rough on the right side of the fairway, forcing a 70-yard layup. Next, Bhatia hit a towering iron shot from 166 yards that barely cleared the water before the rocks guarding the green dropped into direct rough within 20 feet.
“I’m not trying to attack the flag,” Bhatia said. “But you have so much adrenaline. It was a perfect hooked 9-iron, just too much of a tailwind. But it was like one of the easiest chip shots I could have had on that hole.”
Berger’s pitch caught the slope and worked its way into reach, setting up a crucial par inside 15 feet. Bhatia’s chip set the stage for a playoff and a 5-under 31 on the final nine holes.
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After again splitting the fairway following Bhatia’s sudden death, Berger found the rough again, this time on the left side. His iron shot hit the left side of the green but was more than 105 feet from the hole.
Berger’s first putt was 8 feet away and missed par. Bhatia stepped up and calmly hit the ball to 3 feet, two-putting from 27 feet to become Bay Hill’s first sudden-death winner since Tim Herron defeated Tom Lehman on the second playoff hole 27 years ago.
There is currently no tournament on the PGA Tour that does not have an extended playoff period.
After the winning putt, Bhatia celebrated with senior caddy Joe Greiner. He then hugged his wife, Presley, and gave her a kiss on the 18th green near a water hazard, a hole her husband nearly spotted on Sunday when he played his first round.
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“There’s so much pressure, so much adrenaline, so much nerves, to be able to play well…that’s what Joe keeps reminding me, he’s like, you can play happy, you can play nervous, you can play upset, angry,” Bhatia said. “It’s interesting.”
Bhatia has been one of the top young talents in the sport for some time now. In 2019, at age 17, he made his PGA Tour debut during the Valspar Championship in the Tampa area.
Bhatia begins the week with wins at the 2023 Barracuda Championship (the opposite event of the Open Championship) and the 2024 Valero Texas Open.
The API title took Bhatia’s game to another level and also gave him confidence. He is ranked 39th in the world and will be in the top 25 for the first time in his young career.
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“This is another big step for me,” he said. “I never really thought I could actually do it under that much pressure. I feel like I’ve sidestepped that. Today I dug deep and I believed in what I could do, and I executed well.”
Bhatia needed Berger’s help to win and collect his $4 million check. Through a combination of talent and courage, Bhatia proved herself to be a worthy winner at Bay Hill Gallery.
“Everyone knows how difficult it is when you play this game and I’m honored to win it,” he said. “I know he’s out there watching and probably very proud of how this week turned out. To me, it feels like Arnie’s Army. So, very lucky.”
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